End Times
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Matthew 16:4
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Matthew 16:1-4
This is the only place where Jesus actually uses the phrase “Signs of the times.” But he isn’t talking about the last day. He is rebuking the Pharisees and Sadducees for their stubborn unbelief. Jesus had furnished plenteous proofs that He was the Christ–the paralytics walking, the mute talking, the dead raised, and the lost flocking to Christ at the sound of His heavenly voice! Still they ask for proof? It was as obvious as the sky above them. It was as clear as the dirt under their feet!
They refused to see. To the unbelieving heart no proof will ever be proof enough. Because facts aren’t the issue. Even on the last day, when every knee will bow and every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, most of those tongues will do so in terror and in hatred. The Pharisees and Sadducees were given the sign of the prophet Jonah. They were told that Jesus was risen, they seem to even have known it was true and still did not believe.
May we then, look not to the hidden and obscure, but to the one who has made Himself clearly known. Look to the one who has made your salvation entirely sure–as sure as that bloody cross, as sure as the rock rolled away, as sure as the bright dawn of His resurrection day.
Gracious Lord, since you have revealed Yourself to us in Jesus Christ may we ever seek to know Him alone. Amen.